Expecting
by Valkyrie Elysia
Summary: Or 'How the World As They Knew It Ended.' In which Mai breaks the news to Joey he is going to be a father.


**V.E.: This is the first time I've done some Polar shipping. At first I wondered whether I wanted this to be part of a collection of oneshots, but I think this is the only one I'm going to do about this. **

**I don't why, but I can see this happening. At least, at some point.**

* * *

Though everyone reacts to situations and news differently, there are two general categories in which these responses usually fall under. The first is outright joy, in which a person would(if they had lost all of their senses, which is very possible at the time) jump up and down screaming "_Hallelujah!"_ The second is disbelief mixed with denial, often summarized in the words; "_This can't be happening."_

In this case, Mai Valentine was most certainly in the latter's camp.

Her hand had grabbed the faucet to steady herself, hyperventilating in the safe solitary of her home bathroom. She eventually slid to the floor, cradling the cause of her panic attack in her arms.

A wet plastic stick with the unmistakable pink plus sigh.

She still couldn't believe it.

_How on earth did this happen?_

* * *

"Mai! Mai!"

Mai Valentine snapped out of her day dream. Vivian Wong, her somewhat friend and occasional dueling partner, was looking very irritated from across the booth. It wasn't often that Vivian was able to come out to Japan(despite her wanting to stalk Yugi and Kaiba to her heart's content, they on the other hand wouldn't mind if she dropped off the face of the planet), but when she did the two girls made sure to get together.

They were both currently in a booth at a local diner, catching each other up on their lives.

Vivian was currently in Japan for a martial arts tournament in Tokyo(whatever dueling she participated in she was certainly a strong opponent). She just took a pit stop in Domino to catch up with Mai(And of course to continue her fan obsession with Yugi and Kaiba).

Mai recalled the look of shock on the group's faces as she revealed to them she knew the fan girl Asian duelist quite well. The two were both older women and dedicated duelists, a rarity in the Duel Monsters World. Similar interests lead them to become friends somewhat.

Mai, on the other hand, wasn't living any of Vivian's fabulous life. While her friend alternated between dueling/high modeling/martial arts/acting/stalking her current 'love of her life(which gained a new target every month or so)', Mai had settled down. She never thought she'd see the day when she, the loner and wanderer, would find a place to call home. She still dueled, but she also modeled locally in Domino between tournaments.

How did this come to be? Well after a lot of soul searching after Dartz and the Orichalcos(which is something she tried very hard not to think about), Mai realized what it was she wanted. And that was to not lose any more time with the people she called friends.

Things had certainly changed from the first time they had all met during Duelist Kingdom. If someone had told Mai back then she'd end up friends with those guys, she'd have laughed at them outright. Funny how life works.

Yugi Muto finally got a growth spurt and was now currently in Egypt(at least that was where he said in his last email with his friends), studying the ancient past. He was still somewhat a shy person, but Yugi had certainly grown up. The Pharaoh would have been proud of his partner.

Tristan Taylor had honed his gun shooting skills and had become a detective in the local police. He was also currently dating Serenity, which wasn't necessarily approved by Joey but he wisely kept his mouth shut in front of his sister and Mai. Otherwise, a)his relationship with his sister would be strained and b)he'd be sleeping on the couch for the next week.

Tea had gotten New York and was finally dancing on Broadway. Her letters seemed cheerful, but Mai knew from the way that she was writing she missed Domino and everyone(or more specifically a spiky haired duelist). Mai then put this as a hint to Yugi, but she still didn't know whether he had acted upon it.

Then there was Joey, last but certainly not least to Mai. His abominable high school grades and gangster past(which didn't surprise her when he told her about it, I mean she had done stupider) didn't measure up to college standards. So he enrolled in a technical school, where he could work with his hands as a plumber.

And of course(if you hadn't guessed by the previous statement regarding Joey) Mai and Joey had finally stopped denying their attraction and were currently in a serious relationship. A couple of months after 'officially dating,' Mai had noticed the injuries and lame excuses Joey had made. She then told him to get his stuff and move in with her.

Mai had to smile as she remembered all the silly stuff Joey had done while living with her. Despite being a complete idiot at times, there were instances that Joey was very mature(of course these were few and far between compared to the goofy moments).

And the sex was incredible. Though at first it made a Mai a little uneasy that she was doing it with a guy years younger than her, she'd gotten over it.

Vivian sighed at her friend's spacing out.

"Are you okay? I thought you went to la la land or something."

Mai shook her head.

"No I'm fine, I've just been feeling a little under the weather."

Her friend's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You're sick and you came out to see me?"

Mai played with the straw in her drink.

"Not exactly. I don't always feel good, but then I feel just fine."

Vivian looked at her with an uncharacteristic concerned look in her eye.

"Is it with your muscles? Want me to give you a one over?"

Mai waved her hands in front of her quickly. She remembered the last time Vivien had given her acupuncture and it was not a pleasant experience.

"Um, no that won't be necessary!"

Then she felt it. Rising in her stomach, a feeling she knew wasn't good.

She immediately stood up, surprising Vivian, and she headed straight for the ladies room.

Almost a couple seconds later, she found herself puking her guts out into the porcelain throne. She tried her best to keep her hair away from the bowl. She wasn't sure how long she did this.

After a moment, she felt fine and raised her head back up. But as soon as she did, the feeling came back and she promptly pointed her head down to begin again.

"Oh dear."

Mai turned her head to find Vivian looking at her with wide eyes. The Asian woman crouched down, feeling Mai's head and looking over her face.

"You look like a sick dog. You're not running a fever though."

Mai managed a small comment.

"It wasn't as bad before."

Vivian's eyebrows were raised.

"How long has this been going on?"

Mai shrugged.

"Two weeks maybe? I don't know."

This information raised Vivian's eyebrows even higher. For a moment, Vivian's eyes narrowed as if drawing a conclusion. But she still needed more information, a little embarrassing to ask.

"Umm…Mai, when was the last time you had your…you know?"

It took a moment for Mai to understand what Vivian ment. Her face changed as she tried to remember.

"It was about…wait it should have been…."

Then the full implications of what Vivian is suggesting hits her.

"Wait, you don't mean…"

Vivian looked at her directly.

"What I mean, is that you better make sure. We'll swing by the drug store on the way home."

* * *

So this was the result. After scanning the aisle for a pregnancy test, downing down who knows how many glasses, finally getting down to it.

And Mai just couldn't help, but feel terrified.

How could she have gotten pregnant?

She suddenly felt a smack from her inner self. Oh she knew how she got pregnant.

It was after a rather celebratory meal for the end of a grueling photo shoot for Mai and congratulations at Joey finding a stable place to work. One thing lead to another and the condom must have been misplaced. But Mai and Joey had been hung over at the time, so they hadn't given it much thought.

And now here they were. Well, she was at the moment.

Mai couldn't believe it. How could she be a mother? Her own childhood had been hell; always alone even before her parents died. How could anyone expect her to be able to look after a child?

And yet….

She felt her hands go to her stomach, right over where the bump would eventually appear.

There was something persisting in her mind as the disbelief had worn off. The instinct to protect, to see that child smile at her and giggle. There was no doubt in her mind that child would inherit Joey's goofy sweet smile.

Uh oh, Joey. She hadn't even thought about his reaction. Though granted, she was certainly not in the exact mood to call him.

How was he going to react to this? Along with the subject of marriage, neither of them had really breached the subject with each other. Probably because both of them had incredibly bad childhoods and were scared of screwing up their own kids.

How that would happen with Joey, Mai honestly couldn't see. He was great with the kids that had asked for his autograph and dueling advice(the last she wasn't sure was all that solid, since Joey was more for action and luck than strategy). He loved his sister and it was no doubt in her mind that if Joey had a daughter, she'd be in for a similar treatment(including his over the top protective nature when it came to boys).

She had another no doubt in her mind that Serenity would be thrilled to be an aunt. Joey's mother she was less sure of, the two had never formally met. His father could drink himself into hell for all she cared, there was no way she wanted her child anywhere near him. Same went for her side of the family.

Well, she supposed this would have come up eventually. Before Joey, the men she had been with had never really interested her long enough to stay(both of them had had others, as an unspoken rule they didn't discuss it). Joey and her shared something that at times could be termed 'spontaneous combustion,' but was more concrete to Mai than any other bond in her life. She wouldn't move on from him, heck there were days she'd worry that Joey would eventually get tired of her.

But how to tell him…

* * *

Joey sighed as he closed the door behind him and he exchanged his shoes for slippers. It had been a long day and he was really tired. It was one of those take out dinner nights along with early bed.

For the first time in a_ long_ time, he hoped Mai wasn't incredibly that interested in sex tonight.

Speak of the devil/beautiful goddess, she had apparently gone ahead and ordered pizza which now lay on the table. She was currently finishing up the dishes, which was part of the chore cycle of her cleaning and Joey cooking.

Joey's eyes lit up as he breathed in the sweet smell of not having to cook.

"Oh man. How do you know when I'm having a bad day and need takeout before I even tell you?"

Mai smirked at him as she put down the glass she was drying.

"I didn't know it was a bad day. I just got pizza."

Joey's eyebrow raised. Mai didn't usually do these kinds of things unless there was something up. She cooked curry rice then asked for Joey to go with her shopping for a dress(which he usually avoided girl shopping). Another time, she had taken them out before mentioning that she had accidentally ripped one of Joey's cards(luckily it was just a minor spell card).

_Please not anything to do with my cards again. I love Mai, but I don't want to lose my Red Eyes or my Flame Swordsman. I almost wish it was about money._

The two eventually settled into a relatively silent dinner, which was rather unusual for them. Meals usually consisted of gentle banter and teasing, both of them were rather talkative people.

When the silence carried on throughout the night, Joey started to get nervous. He knew it wasn't that anyone had died, if that was it Mai would have come right out and say it. Along on those lines, he was hoping it wasn't any bad news.

Rather than that, the expression on Mai's face seemed to be one of deep thought. As if she was trying to phrase what she wanted to say. He allowed her to take her time.

Finally, after dinner as Joey sat on the couch for a while watching the programs, Mai came over and sat down. At that, Joey turned off the TV and turned to his girlfriend.

Mai stared Joey right down, it was serious.

"Joey?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that I love you right?"

Joey didn't know where she was going.

"Yeah, I do."

Mai seemed a little flustered as she went on, eventually giving up.

"Well, this morning I…..that means to say…I noticed….Oh hell, I'm just going to come out and say it! I'm pregnant."

A moment passed with no change of expression on Joey's face. Then another.

And then he promptly fainted with the third.

* * *

A couple of glasses of water later, the expecting father eventually revived as he sat up coughing.

Mai gave him a rather blunt look.

"Wow, and I thought I reacted badly."

Joey's words came out a jumble, obviously needing to get his words together.

"What…how…I'm going to be a…..Wait a minute I'm not reacting badly!"

Mai gave him an even look.

Joey immediately responded.

"I'm just trying to put it in my head. So umm, when did you find out?"

"This afternoon. Vivian thought it might have been when I told her about my on and off sickness."

Understanding filtered across Joey's face. He had noticed Mai not feeling well(he had insisted on her to take a day off). Come to think of it, it would also explain how Mai was a little more on edge than usual.

Mai looked at Joey, unsure what to do now.

"So, have you put it in your head yet?"

Joey broke out in a huge smile as the sheer shock wore off.

"Of course! We're going to be parents! Oh my god, I'm going to be a father!"

Then a look sheer terror came across his face.

"Oh my god, I'm going to be a father."

Mai smirked as her boyfriend freaked out to an extreme.

"How am I going to do this?! I don't know the first thing about this!"

"Neither do I moron."

Then something struck Joey as he stood up and head to the phone.

"I gotta call everyone."

Mai felt herself laugh, at Joey's obvious panic.

These next couple of months were going to be interesting to say the least.

* * *

**V.E.: Now I know I should update BEC, but I'm just not feeling like it at the moment. Maybe next week.**

**Please review.**


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